Ownership

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chariman of Alphabet, says the company is working to ferret out Russian propaganda from Google News after facing criticism that Kremlin-owned media sites had been given plum placement on the search giant’s news and advertising platforms.  “We’re well aware of this one, and we’re working on detecting this kind of scenario you’re describing and deranking those kinds of sites,” Schmidt said, after being asked why the world’s largest search company continued to classify the Russian sites as news. Schmidt name-checked two state-owned enterprises.

ZRF Partners founder Faisal Nisar and Schurz Communications CEO Todd Schurz submitted a joint proposal to Burlington (VT), offering $25 million for Burlington Telecom. The proposal also detailed a plan to grow Burlington Telecom and make Burlington a "hot bed for tech entrepreneurs and startups in New England." The joint proposal came about through Gary Evans, an adviser to Nisar and the retired CEO of Hiawatha Broadband Communications, which Schurz bought in Oct 2017. Evans connected Nisar and Schurz, Schurz said, and the two men spoke for "hours" about their vision.

[Commentary] Are the very large, very successful tech megaplatforms a problem that needs solving? Are they suppressing competition, innovation, free speech, democracy? I’m skeptical that case has been proven to the extent a strong public policy response is required ASAP. And I am equally skeptical of the solution set being offered by those who are quite comfortable that the anti-tech case has been proven. 

[Commentary]  Recently, 19 towns across Colorado voted to allow the exploration of creating a local, public alternative to expensive private providers. Fort Collins (CO) voters went the furthest, passing a measure to finance an assessment of starting a city-owned broadband utility, which would aim to provide faster service at a cheaper price. That means residents could have a say in whether a new public network maintains the principle of network neutrality, whatever the Federal Communications Commission decides in the future.

More than two months have passed since Puerto Rico and the Caribbean were hit by devastating hurricanes. Like so many people and organizations around the world, Microsoft wanted to help. Following our immediate emergency response, we are continuing to work with government agencies and nonprofit partners to help communities to recover. Following an initial donation, we are providing cash, technology, services and telecommunications support to people and organizations working to support the recovery process in the region.

Investment bankers have gotten used to being asked by worried retail-industry chief executives to pitch takeover ideas aimed at fending off Amazon. Now the fear has spread to media, health care and many other sectors, where CEOs dread the breathtaking competitive advancements made by not just Amazon but also Facebook, Google and Netflix. The result is an explosion of mergers and acquisitions. So far in Nov 2017, about $200 billion of deals have been announced in the US, according to Dealogic.

The United States Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T/DirecTV’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner. The $108 billion acquisition would substantially lessen competition, resulting in higher prices and less innovation for millions of Americans. The combination of AT&T/DirecTV’s vast video distribution infrastructure and Time Warner’s popular television programming would be one of the largest mergers in American history.

AT&T’s former Mobility Chief Glenn Lurie says the wireless pure-play is on its way out. “I do think, long term, you’re going to see less single-play players and more double- and triple-play players, and more bundling. Because without question the customer expectation is going to change, and it is changing. Their expectation is around having everything on their device, having their video on the device, being able to do the things around social on the device. So, I just think that for carriers to continue to grow, they’re going to have to diversify.

Federal regulators took steps Nov 17 to ease broadcast ownership restrictions, a move seen as favorable for Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed $3.9 billion takeover of Tribune Media Co. The Federal Communications Commission said the rule changes would promote ownership diversity and allow broadcasters and local newspapers to better compete in the digital age. Critics said the changes would encourage consolidation and hurt media diversity.

The economic strains of technology on the entire media landscape are intensifying. Weeks after Google and Facebook announced record earnings, some of the biggest players in the digital media industry are still struggling to hit revenue projections, make profit or grow. Rapid consolidation in every sector, but especially digital, shows how difficult it is for media companies to survive in an attention economy dominated by tech platforms.